UFC 95 a night of firsts for lightweight Evan Dunham

http://mmajunkie.comUsing the term “newcomer” to describe UFC 95 winner Evan Dunham (8-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) just doesn’t seem to tell the full story.

The 27-year-old had not only never fought for the organization before his first-round TKO win over Per Eklund, Dunham had never even attended a UFC event.

“The first thing I did (after my fight) was shower up and get back out there with my dad and my cornermen and watched the fights,” Dunham today told TAGG Radio (www.taggradio.com), the official radio partner of MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “That was the first UFC I had ever been to. It was definitely a good experience.”

While most MMA fans have fond memories of their first live UFC experience, the stories don’t generally include a first-round TKO on the evening’s preliminary card.

“I hadn’t been able to afford to go to [a UFC] before, but it was nice to be pretty close,” Dunham said. “I got good seats and so I enjoyed the whole event.”

An unassuming figure, Dunham could have easily blended in with the rest of The O2 crowd. However, the Oregon resident’s earlier destruction of Eklund earned him a bit of notoriety.

“It’s kind of nice because people underestimate me,” Dunham said of his look. “But there were a few people that recognized me. It was nice to be able to talk to them. I always appreciate it when someone says something.”

Dunham’s TKO of Eklund was the first of the night, but it certainly wasn’t the last. Dunham knew the London event didn’t raise many eyebrows with its roster of participating fighters, but he felt proud to be a part of what turned out to be a highly entertaining night of MMA.

“It was a great card to be a part of,” Dunham said. “It was one that hopefully people will remember for a while. It didn’t have any huge, huge names, but all the fights together worked out real well. Lots of knockouts and good submissions.”

Taking the fight on just two weeks’ notice when David Baron was forced out of the event, Dunham said that the nervousness oftentimes associated with a UFC debut never really set in.

“That’s one thing that I know I have is a good mental capacity when it comes to pressure,” Dunham said. “I went into the cage and walked around the cage and got comfortable about an hour before the event. I just told myself, ‘This is just a fight. You’ve been in a lot of them before. Just go out there and fight and don’t think about all the other hype and stuff.'”

In fact, it wasn’t until Dunham made his way into the crowd following his win that the enormity of the moment truly set in.

“It finally kind of hit me when I was sitting in the crowd watching the fights later on,” Dunham said.” I was like, ‘Dang, this is pretty cool.’ It was kind of nice to take [the fight] on short notice because I didn’t get all of this pressure.”

Dunham also found time to reflect on his debut performance following the bout. Despite the successful result, the Xtreme Couture fighter still felt there areas where he could have performed better.

“I go back and I watch my fights and try to critique myself as much as possible,” Dunham said. “I was fairly happy with my performance.

“There was one point where I hurt him with a shot. He kind of flinched and crumbled and I came in went for that guillotine and ended up on my back. That’s one thing I’ve actually been trying to work away from: instead of pulling back, driving in and ending up on top as opposed to putting myself in a defensive position.”

It’s a minor gripe from an otherwise impressive performance, but for a young fighter breaking into the organization it is a necessary attitude to ensure that your first experience in the UFC isn’t your last.

“Coming down here to Las Vegas and working with Shawn Tompkins helped me a lot,” Dunham said. “He really put confidence in my hands. I was able to sharpen up a lot. I’ve got to think him a ton for that.

“I’m feeling better and better with my hands everyday, and I’m trying to become that complete fighter.”

This story, written by John Morgan, was produced by TAGG Radio (www.taggradio.com) specially for MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). The show — which is hosted by fighter/broadcaster Frank Trigg, Gorgeous George and ace producer Goze — books some of the biggest names in MMA. Download all the former episodes at www.taggradio.com, or tune into TAGG Radio’s live shows Monday-Friday at noon ET/9 a.m. PT.

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